Union Station: An intermodal dilemma
Like many issues, the debate about Union Station's role in a regional transit system is basically all sides talking past each other assuming they are in total opposition. In reality, there is common ground in the way an alignment along Grand can connect with future modes that might — or might not — terminate or pass directly through the station's historic footprint. We examine all of today's scattershot connectivity, but we ultimately leave it to you to decide if using the existing station will best serve the intermodal needs of Kansas City.
EXISTING MODES:
Air - KCI is 20 miles from Union Station, a path sparsely populated by both jobs and people. No direct transit connection exists between the two today. One bus route (#129) connects the 10th & Main transit center on weekdays before 6 p.m. LA's FlyAway service is a good model for KC, and now Denver's far-flung DIA has a solid bus option as well. A recent article noted that KCI's passenger base is spread out, presenting another hurdle for inclusion in a light rail line. A commuter rail connection from the station to the airport would require a lengthy new connection — cheaper per mile than light rail, but missing the loop — to the BNSF freight line running northwest from Parkville. About 11 million passengers passed through in 2007, but that number will surely decline in 2008.
Urban bus - Direct connections to Union Station are available. While most nearby KCATA routes favor transferring in the loop or at Crown Center, the MAX makes a stop at the station. The JO's suburban routes stop at the station — only during weekday rush hour — but after making stops in the loop. The top connecting point for all existing bus routes is the loop: western routes typically use 10th & Main, eastern routes typically use the area along Grand. A significant revision of routes is planned to coordinate with the starter line, but no consolidated transit center has been proposed. While light rail planners consider the strip from the river to the Plaza as the area with job density, the densest portion is the downtown loop.
Intercity bus - Greyhound and Jefferson Lines — both more popular than you think — serve passengers from a modern facility at 12th & Troost, with easy access to the interstates. Upstart Megabus stops only at the 10th & Main transit center. Another low-cost carrier, El Conejo (no website?), makes stops at a facility on Southwest Boulevard. Like all mass transit modes, ridership is rising after years of decline. No direct transit connection exists between the two; one transfer in the loop is required. The new Troost BRT project will skirt Greyhound by three blocks, while the current #25 stops right at the corner seven days a week. Is there adequate space on Union Station's grounds to accommodate intercity bus bays along with everything else?
Intercity rail - Amtrak provides the only mode that serves Union Station exclusively. A single passenger platform and two tracks are north of the original concourse in the same trench that houses freight tracks. 117,155 people used the Kansas City station in 2007 (boardings and alightings), a number on the rise in 2008. Years of redevelopment have rendered the original east-west track configuration useless: any direct connection from a north-south light rail would have to come from the streets above.
Taxi - A taxi stand serves the area along the southern border of nearby Washington Square Park, and taxis generally wait to meet Amtrak passengers in front of the station (the same applies at the Greyhound station). Newer pedicabs rarely stray outside of the loop.
Bike - No connected bike lanes, dedicated trails, or lockers exist near Union Station today, although that could change if the KC Trails plan ever gets moving. City buses have two-position bike racks and Missouri-sponsored Amtrak trains allow unboxed bikes for a $10 fee, offering some options for connections at the station today (no such luck on intercity buses). Did we mention it's uphill in three of four directions?
Pedestrian - Six lanes of fast-moving traffic make crossing Main Street at Pershing a daunting task, especially considering how family-friendly the area is intended to be (we won't even talk about approaching the station from Broadway). The sweeping vistas we all know and love make for long walks to just about anywhere except via the freight house pedestrian bridge. Can the pedestrian experience around the station be fixed? Does that even matter if most connections were to bus or rail? Did we mention it's uphill in three of four directions?
FUTURE MODES:
Commuter rail - Commuter rail has been more of a topic of late, but Mayor Mark Funkhouser's original concept had service running on Kansas City Southern's tracks, which lack a direct connection to the station (a mixed message coming from such a staunch proponent of the station-as-hub idea). Kansas abandoned a commuter rail plan along the busy I-35 corridor last year — which would easily terminate at the station, but could also terminate in the River Market for a single-seat ride east and north. Does it make sense to send all commuter rail riders to Union Station when a majority of them will need to backtrack or transfer for a one-mile ride to work in the loop? Or can we handle two urban commuter rail terminii like New York, Chicago, and Boston, especially if they're linked by light rail?
Light rail - Grand Boulevard is two blocks from the eastern edge of Union Station. The Link, an elevated and enclosed walkway, connects the station to Washington Square Park, Crown Center, and two large hotels. Streetcars once covered the area, but only a handful of routes stopped adjacent to the station on Main Street. The study area has no existing north-south freight rail tracks, so any direct connection to the station would have to run perpendicular from the streets above (although the original 2006 Chastain plan had light rail — and gondolas — running through a closed Penn Valley Park and connecting with the west end of the station).
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I still don’t understand why Grand is a preferred route to Main (or Walnut). It seems silly to ignore Union Station as a Hub unless you have to. Cutting through Crown Center has its advantages, but that road is often closed for major festivals down there. Going down Walnut or Main also brings the route closer to the convention district (Main is almost half way between the Sprint Center and the Convention Center). I’ve just never heard anyone provide a rationale of why Grand is the preferred route.
grand is consistently wider and closer to where the new river crossing will be, at least that’s the explanation we’ve been given. we’re not opposed to main street — we love the station! — but main was initially presented in workshops as part of a main/walnut pair (which fell flat with participants). it’s definitely something that needs a more concise explanation than what’s been provided thus far.
the real question is: is the station just a symbol at this point? or does it provide something intrinsically better than a new light rail stop on grand connected via covered walkway? how would you address intermodal connections if you want the station to really be a hub? there’s more to intermodalism than trains, which was the point of our post.
Dave,give me the reasons that Light Rail is better than Streetcars.We know it’s not cost per mile[4 times higher],and it’s not speed [John Dobies says they would avg. 20mph River Market to 47th St].
Great analysis! Again, doing the Star’s job for them
My only beef is with the assertion that jobs are sparse between Downtown and the airport. In fact, the I-29 corridor is a booming suburban job center. I’ve heard it’s third only to Downtown and the Plaza in it’s employment base.
yes, the I-29 corridor has some job density, but nothing that would support light rail for the entire distance to the airport. if airport lines in other cities were used by 50% of passengers or more, it might make less of a difference. that’s why the express bus concept being used in LA and Denver makes a lot of sense for us.
the star is getting better with their coverage. it’s easy for those of us without editors. they also wrote the book on union station!
as for full light rail (vs. modern streetcar) through the urban core: *average* speed is irrelevant… *top* speed is what dictates vehicle weight, which in turn will dictate the depth of the track bed. a shallow track bed would require all vehicles terminating along the spine to be lighter and thus slower at top speed. as a result, a light rail vehicle arriving from grandview might be limited to 50-55 mph instead of 65-70 mph.
even if we went with a shallow track bed and modern streetcars, there’s nothing to say entire sections of main and grand — including the bridges — wouldn’t need to be completely rebuilt anyway due to years of “band-aid” maintenance. there are still century-old bricks and streetcar tracks underneath decades of asphalt all over town.
Great post, I really enjoy reading this site and learning from it. I truly hope Union Station can live up to its potential as an intermodal transportation hub for this city and metro area.
Is there enough room in the parking area under U.S. to accommodate some bus service?
I get your point about maybe there isn’t enough space there (anymore) to make it an intermodel hub…the fact that Amtrak runs through there is a good start…as is the idea of a JOCO commuter route likely running to that spot. It just seems like ignoring that and moving the light rail line two blocks away doesn’t make sense. I think the best option would be to run both lines down Walnut (North of 20th street) and closing it off to street traffic would be the best option, then run it down Main the rest of the way. They could then use 6th street or the area just North of I-70 to run it the block East to get to Grand at the River market…
i’m quite sure some bus bays would fit underneath the front parking lot where OK street passes through. again, though, you have to consider proximity to highways; the existing 12th & troost greyhound station is about a minute from entering the freeway system. on the flip side, new rail enabling a connection between KC southern and the terminal tracks could be built.
all at what cost?
again, we have to ask if focusing on the building is a more symbolic gesture than a practical one. the new st. louis intermodal facility is an interesting concept that provides seamless connections between their light rail, amtrak, and greyhound service; their union station’s train sheds had been similarly mangled in the name of “progress”.
that’s why we dubbed our post “an intermodal dilemma”… there is no easy answer. ideally, we’d tunnel light rail through the loop and run new train tracks to connect to all of the existing freight lines, creating a new underground station right in the middle of the job density, but i don’t see that happening. whatever final plan takes shape *must* include a centralized facility where as many modes as possible seamlessly connect or terminate.
I have read statements regarding which is better . . . light rial or streetcars. Both are terrific and it depends on the need. Streetcars are like a friend coming by in a car to pick you up and give you a ride for several or more blocks. You will stop at the signal lights with the other cars and you will travel at speeds compatible to other vehicles. Yes, it is faster than walking from downtown to crossroads and you will be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It is fantastic. By the way, it is faster than you can walk. However, it is sometimes a bit slower than you can drive, because you have to stop and offer rides to everyone who needs a ride. Now your 20 minute walking radius is the equivalent a 40 minute walk, which is good for business. If you would drive over there, but not walk, then jump on streetcar - minus gas, insurance, car payment, and parking hassle.
Now, if your proposing streetcar in place of light rail, where light rail makes more sense, then you really don’t know what your talking about. Unless, you can tell me that you have been a transit rider on light rail for the last 12 years and streetcar for the past 7 years, and you haven’t driven a car to work since 1991, then your shooting in the dark with your comment or your an expert minus personal experience, which makes you an expert? I am the rider described above and Light rail is faster than streetcar. In the city, probably not if your looking at vehicle speeds, but who cares, because it is about signal preemption. You can’t preempt streetcars, because they ride the road like a giant limo, but unfortunately, when a tardy rider dives for the door and presses the button, the doors open and the streetcar misses it’s green light and has to wait out for the next green signal, just like the cars around it. Light rail is different. Light Rail rolls through signaled intersections and when the person running really late jumps for the door and hits the button, they get to wait for the next train and ponder their inability to plan properly. Everybody on the train doesn’t have to suffer the tardiness. Of course, in the stretches outside the core, the vehicle speed comes into play and your off.
I ride 9 miles to the Portland City center everyday from the west side neighborhood. My transit pass cost 55.00 a month and the last time I filled up with gas it was 58.00. I have been saving a lot of money since the early 90’s, and the savings continues to grow.
I am also a native Kansas Citian, who still loves Kansas City. Families, young folk, old folk, white collar, and blue collar all deserve good public transportation!! Kansas City is in the top 10 least walkable cities and Portland is in the top 10.
Pedestrian connections are also vital and . . . yes, so are buses. I know about that too, because I ride a bus (7 minutes) to get to the train (20 minutes) to get downtown and walk two blocks (4 minutes). Total travel time is 31 minutes. Total travel comfort is five star. I drink a coffee, read the paper, and get to work perfectly and enjoyably.
I ride with students, engineers, administrators, waiters, lawyers, contractors, families, grandparents, and city, state, and federal employess, just to name a few.
Make sure light rail hits the most housing, the most jobs, major city institutions, parks or places that have that potential for all the aforementioned, but have not yet been developed. When the rail hits the street, the brick and mortar will hit the ground running, and everyone who wants to spend their money on things other than gas, insurance, and car payments and choose to get conntected to everything by public transportation or foot will be there.
The people want transit for the all of Kansas City not just downtown. We could have streetcars run from the Bannister all the way to the airport for a fourth of the cost of Light Rail.Both run on rail,yes most streetcars go up to 45 mph but can have a larger engine to go 60mph. In any case most of the time they would avg on 20mph. as for stopping for any of the lights the same can be done with a streetcar. [Just install the electronics] Grew up using transit from 31st and troost to downtown,have rode in London ,Chicago,New York,and New Orleans. This is not about drinking coffee it’s about transit for all of Kansas City. So why is a sales pitch coming from Portland? Modern Streetcars seem to work in Portland just fine. Why not here? This is about a starter line not Grandview. Once they spend a billion dollars for the starter line it will be many years later before any more rail is built,if any. [because of expense] KC is at it’s limit on bonds,once we have the sewer & water repairs happen. This way the North to the South,and yes the eastside would have transit. It takes a block a week to build which means faster installation time.Why keep roads blocked for 6 months or more? Also you need to see where the stops are,they would be the same for streetcars as LR. It seem to me this is more about building stations than transit. Why else would the cost be so much more,Streetcars about $13 million a mile now [per Portland] Light Rail $63 million now about $80 million when we build. What a price to pay for something that really won’t go any faster. [per John Dobies of the HNTB firm].
coffee? grandview? wha?
again, the portland streetcar is a CIRCULATOR. the system proposed here is similar in scope to their MAX, which is FULL LIGHT RAIL bringing commuters into the central city (and they’re expanding that, too) at higher top AND average speeds.
london, new york, and chicago DON’T have streetcars… not sure of your point there. they have heavy rail that is elevated or underground and isn’t subject to surface speed limits.
construction and operating revenue will come from a NEW tax and will NOT be backed by city bonds. that’s been made very clear.
we already debunked your top vs. average speed argument. and last i checked, the 12-mile starter line will serve a good chunk of the city where there are people and jobs (and downtown has the MOST job density of anywhere in the metro, followed by the plaza and crown center).
it seems if you’re concerned about cost, you should direct your ire at the most expensive segment that will probably serve the fewest amount of people: from north 32nd street to vivion road (over $100 million).
Would it make more sense to create a new intermodel terminal at the River market? And then reroute Amtrak through the River Market vs US?
we think a purpose-built facility there would make more sense and be closer to the loop (amtrak can be rerouted there on tracks that exist today), but hearing the letter from andi udris to the council today makes that far less probable. in contrast, it was nice to see russ johnson chime in and say commuter rail from the east into US would cost a fortune because the trench (and bridges) carrying the terminal tracks would need widened. granted, there is legislation moving through congress now that would help commuter rail operators negotiate with freight rail companies (amtrak is the only passenger operation with a mandated priority over freight).
the city will probably just default to the FOCUS plan with an intermodal facility in the empty spot just east of union station AND a separate commuter rail facility in the river market. making design concessions for connectivity to US and building a second facility will probably end up costing more… but hey, at least they’ll be connected by rail.
this is a great post, i wish i had read it earlier